Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for participating in the fourth quarter 2021 earnings conference call of Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode. After the call, we will conduct a question and answer session. Today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to Ms. Ginny Kim, Senior Vice President, Group Treasurer of Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited. Please go ahead.

Thank you. Thank you everyone for joining us today for our fourth quarter 2021 earnings call. On the call are Lawrence Ho, Jeff Davis, Evan Winkler, and our property presidents in Macau, Manila, and Cyprus. Before we get started, please note that today's discussion may contain forward-looking statements made under the safe harbor provision of federal securities laws. Our actual results could differ from our anticipated results. In addition, we may discuss non-GAAP measures. A definition and reconciliation of each of these measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures are included in the earnings release. Finally, please note that our supplementary earnings slides are posted on our investor relations website. With that, I'll now turn it over to Mr. Ho.

Thank you, Jeannie. Our results in the fourth quarter continue to reflect COVID-19-related disruption and their impact on travel and customer visitation. That said, volumes across all segments in Macau increased in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to the third quarter, despite structural changes in the VIP segment. Group property EBITDA also showed meaningful sequential improvement this quarter, which demonstrates our disciplined cost controls. Going into 2022, the COVID flare-up in Zhuhai led to softer performance in the pre-CNY period. However, volumes across our segment increased year-over-year during the Chinese New Year holiday period, and this carried over into the week following the holidays. Premium direct business at City of Dreams Macau more than doubled compared to the Chinese New Year period in 2021 and continued to outperform into the following week. Mass table drop also demonstrated strength, increasing around 20% compared to CNY 2021. In the Philippines, we recorded the strongest quarterly EBITDA performance since COVID-19, thanks to a full quarter of casino operations with capacity restrictions. Going into 2022, The authorities reopened the Philippine border for fully vaccinated international tourists effective on February 10th. And Metro Manila is operating under Alert Level 1 from March 1st. Consequently, our venues can now operate at 100% capacity, and it is the first time COD Manila can operate at full capacity since March 2020. Turning to Cypress. Our casinos remained open throughout the fourth quarter of 2021, and we saw sequential growth in EBITDA, along with an increase in gaming spend per patron. Gaming volumes in the fourth quarter reached 90% of pre-COVID levels, and we are hopeful for further normalization going into 2022. We remain committed to our global CapEx and development program. In Macau, We continue our efforts to complete construction of Studio City Phase 2 by a deadline set in the land concession of December 27, 2022. For Phase 2, we recently announced a partnership with Marriott International to bring the W Hotel brand to one of our two new hotel towers. The W Macau at Studio City will have 557 keys and further enhance the Studio City's premium mass offerings. In Europe, the construction of City of Dreams Mediterranean is on track for opening in the second half of 2022. Finally, I would like to thank the Macau government for the opportunity to contribute our views during the public consultation process and for providing a clear framework for the new gaming law. We are committed to participating in the upcoming public tender and we remain fully confident that Melco can remain a key contributor to Macau's growth and diversification in the years to come. Our enthusiasm for Melco's medium and long-term growth prospects remains unchanged, and we are ready to welcome our guests once travel restrictions normalize. With that, I turn the call over to Jeff to go through some of the numbers.